Minden has been host to a number of foreign exchange students over the years. During the 2017-18 school year however, one of Minden’s own students took advantage of the Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) program to spend a year abroad. Chloe Beck recently returned from her time in Spain with a whole new outlook on life.“At this age you think your life is so important, you think high school basketball is the most important thing. But then you go away from it all and just start over and you realize those things aren’t very important and you can kind of start your own life for the first time. I know I’ve matured a lot,” Beck said.Her experience as an exchange student began when she learned about RYE during her eighth grade year. She started attending Rotary meetings and preparing for her exchange by taking extra classes and studying Spanish. She arrived in the small coastal village of Senija, Spain on September 1 and began classes the next week.